Implications of glacial deposit ages for the timing and rate of active crustal faulting in the central Cascade arc, Oregon, USA

Abstract

New cosmogenic 3He chronologies and geologic mapping of faulted glacial drift provide new constraints for the slip rates of active faulting in the central Cascade arc, Oregon, USA. The White Branch and Dilman Meadows fault zones cut deposits created by three distinct glacial advances, which provide timing, kinematics, and rate constraints for fault motion. New cosmogenic 3He data from landforms comprising the youngest and most widespread deposits have ages between 19.4 +10.1/–6.2 ka and 21.3 ± 4.9 ka; therefore, they were deposited during the last glacial maximum (LGM). A second, older outwash surface reveals an age of 74.2 ± 3.8 ka, which suggests glaciation possibly associated with marine isotope stage (MIS) 5b. Dip-slip displacement across fault scarps expressed by lidar data reveal similar magnitudes of extensional deformation for LGM and older glacial deposits on the White Branch fault zone, which implies a lack of earthquake ruptures between the oldest and LGM advances. In contrast, scarp profiles along the Dilman Meadows fault zone reveal progressive cumulative slip for surfaces of increasing age. Taken together, our measurements provide the first constraints on the rate of extensional faulting derived from Quaternary geochronology along the White Branch and Dilman Meadows faults, which total 0.1–0.4 mm/yr since ca. 75 ka and 0.6 ± 0.04 mm/yr since the LGM, respectively. The White Branch fault zone accommodates predominately fault-normal extension, whereas right-oblique slip characterizes the Dilman Meadows fault zone. Active deformation across the central Cascade Range thus reflects the combined effects of ongoing crustal block rotation and arc magmatism.